Charles Arnold always said “someday” he would complete a full Ironman triathlon. That day is arriving sooner than he expected – next week, in fact, when Charles will compete in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii on Saturday, October 12.

Charles was handpicked by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training (TNT) program as a participant capable both of finishing the 140.6-mile elite triathlon and of raising at least $75,000 for LLS blood cancer research and patient support program.

Charles, who lives with his family in Mettawa and is a principal at KPMG, first became involved with LLS when his wife Kate was diagnosed with Follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2008. With treatment, Kate went into remission four months later.

Charles began fundraising for LLS as he participated in marathons and triathlons with TNT as a way to give back to others touched by blood cancers.

However, Kate relapsed in March 2009, during the middle of Charles’ triathlon training. She and Charles spent time in various treatments until she received a stem cell transplant from an anonymous donor in June 2010. Since then, Kate has been in remission, and has participated in LLS’s Blood, Sweat & Tears Charity Bike Ride with Charles and the rest of their family. Charles is also now a member of the Board of Trustees of LLS in Illinois.

“Our fight against this disease and its effects will continue long into the future,” Charles says. “That is why I continue to swim, bike and run.”

Charles is also training and fundraising in honor of his good friend, Doug Loizzo, of Homer Glen. Doug is the father of young twin daughters, a TNT participant and a blood cancer survivor who received a stem cell transplant in March 2013.

“As excited as I am about this race, it is actually kind of a placeholder,” Charles writes on his fundraising page. “I compete today so that Doug can do it someday. I will raise money so that others can fight cancer as vigorously as Doug has and can win. He will be back on the course and someday at Kona himself. Until then, I will race in his honor.”

To date, Charles and his family have raised more than $86,000 – well exceeding their initial goal of $75,000.

Despite the 19 marathons and triathlons Charles has participated in, the Ironman World Championship will be twice as long as any triathlon he’s ever completed. It includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and concludes with a full marathon.

“We are so appreciative to Charles and Kate for their incredible fundraising efforts to support blood cancer patients,” says LLS executive director Pam Swenk. “Together, they truly embody the spirit of the Ironman event and of LLS’s Team In Training. The funds they raise are helping to save lives today, not someday.”

To learn more or support Charles’ fundraising efforts, visit www.kateandcharles.com.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ® (LLS) is the leading source of free blood cancer information, education and patient support, and funds research to advance more breakthrough therapies for blood cancer patients. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org.